Kill or Protect? chapter 1
by Duckluver
Summary: okay, so this is a story i have started writing and it might be more suitable for 'older people' just coz its a bit grim? is that the right word? dm, but yeah Kat, is an assassin and has to go on a mission with her friend Hale, they protect Shane, who is being targeted by someone, Kat doesnt normally protect. see how she handles looking after another life instead of destroying it.
1. Chapter 1

I can only live if I kill others. That is what I was told for so long. But how am I so sure? What if, I'm protecting the wrong people, the bad people? How can I tell? What if I was meant to be the good guy? The one who didn't kill, or hurt. I was a woman, but the last thing I was, was helpless. I destroyed people and their lives on a daily basis. My boss didn't make me or the people around me, my heart did. To see someone in pain gave my soul joy. I was an assassin, it is who I am.

I sat in the corner of the dark room, looking out at the mass of bones in front of me. I stared at them, not feeling a shred or sympathy. My senses flicked on as I heard the sound of heavy footsteps from a distance, I could tell they were coming this way. I dragged my body up off the floor and tightened my utility belt. A sharp edge stuck into my leg, my knife sat comfortably in its case, it was a good pain. I walked towards the heavy metal door and as I heard the footsteps come to a stop I readied myself. When the keys moved in the lock, I shot out my foot in a strong kick. The door came easily off of the hinges, not a challenge. I walked over the now fallen door and the flattened person beneath it. Blood started to leak out over the floor and I ran down the hallways "two lefts and a right." I breathed, as I turned and skidded to a stop. A large window stood in front of me. Without a second hesitation I ran at the window shattering its pride. I jumped straight down to the forest floor. I saw more guards forming at the hole in there pretty little wall. I laughed as I reached for the small bump in my back pocket. A grenade. I bit the top off smiling at the guards and threw it. I turned and ran before the explosion happened but I could still here the screams and the impact still caught me. I stumbled forward but I kept running through the trees without looking back and admiring my work.

Soon I came to a lake; it was long but not very wide. I turned left and counted exactly 32 steps before stopping and walking into the lake. The coldness of the water enveloped me in a cold hug. A few moments later my foot touched something hard and I stooped low to drag the small rowing boat out from under the large rock I remember from not so long ago. I drifted myself across the lake and immediately destroyed the boat. "Nothing is left behind" I recited. I looked around to check for any signs of living things. Night was approaching so I had to use my ears, everything was clear. I walked east and felt along the trees, searching for the mark. I stopped suddenly when feeling the gash in the trees bark. I knocked on the wood and heard hollow echoing around. I grasped the tree with both hands; slowly I turned the tree until a small click was heard. I stomped hard on the ground and a hole appeared next to the tree. Bits of earth fell inside as I jumped freely inside. The ground brushed past me as I slid further down. The hole above me quickly vanished out of site as it sealed itself again. The passage came to a stop as the floor evened out.

The walk through the tunnel took only ten minutes according to my mental clock but it felt like only a few minutes before I saw a glow of a torch and the shine of a sword pointed my way. I looked up with an expressionless face and the guard placed his sword back in his belt. "He's looking for you." He whispered gruffly. I glared and walked up to the dark wooden door. I reached for the medallion that dangled behind my gear. I inserted it in the lock until the lock snapped as if it hadn't been used in centuries, but I had only used it a few days ago. I pushed open the doors to reveal more forest but this time lit up by the moon beams that cracked between the tree branches. In front of me stood a mansion. I walked up to the gate and jumped onto it, climbing over was easy but to find Hale standing on the other side wasn't as fun. "You're a little late, were you successful?" he asked looking directly into my eyes searching for the truth. "Just the usual. Yeah he's dead." I smiled as we walked down the cobbled paths and passed the ivy covered walls until we reached the door. "Go on in, he's waiting." Hale said with no emotion showed in his voice. Without replying I reached for the door and went inside.

The dark drapes covering the windows hung limply as usual and the dark red carpet still had the blood stains smeared here and there. I stopped abruptly at a large mahogany door. My hands curled up into a fist as I knocked loudly on the door. Silence was given before a deep voice spoke "enter" I opened the doors and strode into the dark room. my boss sat at the end of a long table. I went over and bowed. "The son is dead." I said firmly. "Good work Kat, rest up for now, I have another mission for you. I will explain later." "Yes, thank you." I said before walking back out of the room down a familiar hallway.

Hale waited around the corner. "Hey, Kat, you got another mission?" "Yup, but don't know what yet." I said casually as I went into my room, he followed closely behind. "Heh, lucky you." I sat down stiffly on a chair as Hale spread out on the floor on his stomach. I looked down at him and I almost let myself smile. "So, what happened at the castle?" he asked. "Nothing besides the normal got locked up and killed him, nothing special." I replied. "How boring. Not even a challenge then." "Tell me about it." I replied letting a small smile play on my lips. Hale got up swiftly and sat in the chair opposite me. "you know, dinner will be ready soon, are you going to eat?" he asked staring at me. "Only the weak, waste time on such pleasures." I replied smoothly. Hale frowned and opened his mouth to speak "you, know you need to eat." He leaned closer "id hate to lose you to starvation." He whispered in my ear. I scowled. "fine, if it will get you off my back then I will." Hale smiled looking pleased with himself. "but for now, can you leave me to rest?" I said getting up and opening the door. "fine, see you later then." Hale sighed and left.I closed the door and sat down on my bed.

Staring at my hands, I recalled the mission. The tight ropes binding my hands, the cold chains around my neck. I gave a small shudder before stepping back up off the bed. I walked over towards my small cupboard and emptied its contents on to the bed. knifes, guns,darts and other weapons fell onto the bed. I looked down on them and was about to choose my next companion before a knock was given on the door. I paused before growling "what?" "erm, miss the meal is ready." Said a nervous maid on the other side of the door. I walked to the door and flung it open to see a young made trembling, "master Hale sent me to get you." Whimpered the maid. I sighed "fine" and closed the door behind me. I followed the maid at a distance to a hall with another long table spread out.

I saw various members of the bosses 'assistants' including hale who beamed at me. My eyes drifted down the table to where my boss sat eating soup while other men chatted around him. I headed towards Hale and sat beside him looking gloomily at the bowl of soup in front of me. "heh, well done Kat." Hale said through mouthfuls of soup. I turned my attention to the food in front of me as I picked up the metal spoon. I ladelled the spoon carefully into the bowl and lifted it towards my mouth. The warm flavours floated down my throat and into my stomach. I gave a sigh. "What? You like it?" Hale asked hopefully. "Not a chance, it's disgusting." I replied calmly. I was about to take in more, but my boss shouted out my name. "Kat. Come here. Hale, you too." We stood up in unison and walked over to the other end of the table. "sit" he commanded. We both reluctantly sat down on either side of him. "I have a mission for you Kat, there is a young man about your age who is studying at a private school, Dunbridge Acadamy. I want you to pose as a student and befriend this boy, he is the son of a dear friend and someone's trying to kill him. Your job is to keep him safe you can't kill this one, sorry. For this mission Hale will be accompanying you." I nodded "yes sir, when do we leave?" I asked in reply. "tomorrow morning you will take a jet down there."he said firmly. "yes sir, we will not fail you." We replied. We stood up from the table and headed back down to our rooms to prepare for our departure.

I walked into my room to find a school uniform laid out over my weapons, still sitting on the bed. I grabbed it and looked it over. Standing in front of the mirror I held it over my front. "so I guess I cant wear any weapons on the outside then." I looked it over to find some secret pockets where I could easily store a dart or two. I singled out my weapons and packed a suitcase ready for the mission. I had just zipped up my bag as my door swung open. Hale strode in wearing his disguise. "heh, look pretty good, don't you think?" he asked me posing infront of the mirror. I chuckled. "quite the charmer. Where are your guns?" I asked. Hale opened his blazer to show invisible pockets. He reached inside and pulled out a large gun. "check." "heh, your lucky. Try hiding a knife in a skirt." I joked. "I checked the details by the way and looks like we are alone in separate rooms but your room is opposite mine." I smiled "at least I will know one person for first day of school. Whats our target called by the way?" Hale looked down at the papers he was holding " Shane, looks like he is in most of our classes." I nodded. It sounded easy enough. "okie dokie, if your done then I better go train. See you tomorrow Kat." Hale jogged out of the room and I slumped onto my bed once again. I yawned and realised how tired I actually was from the long day. I moved my things onto the cupboard as I clambered into bed. my eye lids slowly descended and I fell into sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun shone brightly into my room as I opened my eyes. I heard a small bird singing outside, feeling confused I looked outside and saw the baby bird singing happily. I reached for my gun and pulled the trigger, hitting directly at the bird. "looks like I missed one." I gave a tired yawn and went to the bathroom. I turned on a cold shower and let the blood wash off me from the day before. I quickly changed into my disguise and carefully placed each of my weapons in the right places. I was also given hair and make up supplies with a note,{you gotta look pretty, kat!} "Hale!" I breathed frustratingly. I opened up the bag to find straighteners and a small bag of makeup. I carfully did my straightened my hair and put it into a sleek pony tail. Then I added an appropriate amount of makeup. I looked into the mirror, disgusted at my disguise.

I slung my backpack over one shoulder and walked outside the mansion to find Hale waiting by an expensive looking jet. I ran towards him and I stopped in front of him. He nimbly took out his knife and swept it across the back of my head. I stood looking surprised as I felt the bobble snap and my hair fall down my back and shoulders. "you look better with your hair down, Kat!" Hale said grinning. I glared at him as he went up onto the jet. I followed behind. We were probably on the jet for an hour or so before I decided to talk. "hey,Hale? Wont it be weird for two random students to arrive in the middle of a school year in an expensive jet?" I asked. Hale looked my way and replied "well its all about presentation, basically we are both 15 year olds who happen to be friends from America and we came here on the same jet to study at a posh school." "are we saying any other background information?" I continued. "erm, only our names and age. Everything else can be made up as we go along. Oh plus, the boss gave us these little tags that are kinda like a mobile phone, you just press this button and speak." Hale handed me a small tag and I clipped it to my collar. "okay, got it." I replied confidently. Soon after the jet started to descend towards the school. We landed on top of the tarmac.

I glanced quickly at Hale before plastering a fake smile on my face and slinging my bag on my back. We walked down the steps to where a tall women stood with a smilng man and a confident looking girl next to them. We walked towards them smiling happily as the woman extended a hand."hello, you to must be the students from America? Er, Hale and Kat?" I took the hand and shook it gently as I spoke. "yes, thank you very much for letting us be a part of your wonderful academy!" Hale smiled and shook the mans hand as he spoke. "yes, we are sorry for imposing half way through the academic year but we promise to try our best in our time here." The couple smiled warmly at us and started "thank you very much, this is our head pupil, Laura, she is here to show you to your rooms." Then the girl stepped forward and smiled at us. "thank you head teacher. Hale, Kat if you could follow me please." Laura turned and started walking towards a large pair of doors. Hale looked at me quickly and grinned. We followed keeping at a safe distance.

"here are your rooms!" Laura said happily while pointing to the two rooms facing each other at the end of a corridor. "thank you very much laura!" Hale said with a kind smile as he swiped his card into the door. I did the same with mine and stepped inside my room. as soon as I heard Hale's door shut I pressed the button on my tag " Hale, meet me outside the rooms in five mins." "Affirmative." Hale replied.

I dragged my suitcase over to the lone bed and opened it up. I searched the room for any cameras or bugs that had been used, once Iyt came up clean I looked for any good storage places for my things. Looking around I saw a small cabinet hidden under the counter. I opened it up and started to put my weapons in there. My mental clock chimed as the five minutes finished. I stood up and brushed myself off. Then I walked to my door and stepped into the corridor. Hale stood leaning against the doorway. "my room is secure, yours?" he whispered. "yup, all clear." "great, so lets head off down to history then!" said Hale excitedly. I quickly pulled out a picture from my top pocket and studied it. "so this is him?" I asked not even surprised at how Hale had slipped it in there with out my realising it. "yup, Shane Roden." Hale replied. I nodded as we strolled down the corridor, the blue prints of the building still fresh in my mind abled us to casually go where ever we wanted without looking out of place.

We reached a blue door and read {history hr2 Mr Simons} I knocked on the door and opened it gently. "exscuse us for interrupting, Mr Simons, but we have just arrived in school and would like to join this class." I said politely flashing him a smile. The door had been covering us up from that point but as we stepped in, just as mine had done, I felt Hale stiffen up as his enses went on alert with twenty pairs of eyes widening at us. I gazed around noticing all of the boys who were slumped, sat up staring at me, all of the girls who were secretly texting under the table, started messing with their hair and pouting towards Hale. Mr Simons started talking "of course, welcome to Dunbridge Acadamy, please take a seat. My eyes surveyed the classroom until I locked eyes with the reason we were here, I walked over and sat quietly in the empty seat next to a boy I had a picture of in my pocket. Hale, ignoring the girl's silent pleas came and sat next to me, whispering "well done." Mr Simons talked on about the civil war, but me and Hale knew enough about that to teach the class, so I turned to my left and smiled calmly at my target. "hello there, im Kat, whats your name?" I cocked my head to one side making my long black hair fall down one shoulder. "me?" he replied blushing a little. "um, yeah?" I replied and giggled. " heh, erm, im Shane, nice to meet you, Kat?" Shane said growing a little flustered. "nice name, Shane, have you met my good friend Hale?" I turned and nudged Hale who turned obediently to look at Shane. "nice to meet you!" Hale said. Shane smiled nervously. Then turned back to look at Mr Simons. I turned back to Hale and whispered "can we swap characters? I don't like mine." He grinned and whispered "tough."


	3. Chapter 3

After history it was lunch, me and Hale waited until Shane had gone out the door with his friends before we followed keeping an even distance. "easy target, or not?" Hale asked me. "easy peasy!" I said back rolling my eyes. We went into the large hall "ha! Now I guess you have to eat!" said hale happily. I looked at him as if he were a child and replied "not really, I think I will just get a drink and an apple or something." Hale sighed but didn't complain.

"Hey, do we know if anyone else is tracking him?" Hale asked after we had bought our food. I racked my brain before whispering "we don't think so but if we see anything suspicious then I have my ways, simple." We sat down at the back of the room at an empty table, from here we could see all exits and still keep an eye on the target. I bit into my apple hungrily and felt a drip of juice fall down my chin. I picked up a napkin and carefully wiped it away. Suddenly I was aware that I had eyes on me. I turned my head thirty degrees to a table full of boys, my eyes widened and I gave a small smile and a wave to the group who gazed in our direction. "you know, I think you might have some admirers kitty kat." Whispers Hale as he follows my gaze. "hmmph, that can be useful though I suppose." I reply "I guess someone should have put a 'warning I kill' sign on you." Hale laughs at his own joke. "what about yourself, Hale? I know you will have noticed the group of girls over there by now." My eyes drifted to the small group of girls that kept applying lipstick and gazing dreamy eyed at Hale. " yeah, I noticed. I also noticed that Shane isn't paying attention to either of us." Hale countered. "I can fix that." I said in a daring voice.

I got up from the table and took my unopened bottle of water with me. I walked past Shane's table and made a big fuss over trying to open my water. In reality I could have opened that bottle in the blink of an eye, but I had to put on a show. Finally looking like I had given up I looked around for help and caught Shane's eye. I walked over smiling and stood next to him, then I bent down and asked "erm, sorry to bother you, Shane, but could you please help me open this water?" I smiled sweetly like a cherry on top. Shane looked at me surprised for a moment before blushing and taking the bottle, in one swift movement he untwisted the cap. "thank you Shane!" I squeeled and added a giggle. Then I sauntered off back to my table, fully aware of Shane and most of the other boys watching after me. I sat back down next to Hale. Hale clapped in amusement, "that was quiet the show there." "thanks, I was pretty good huh?" I responded smiling. "yup, good thing we have double drama next." Hale reminded me.

After lunch we made our way down the hallways to the drama section. For our drama class we were told to change into the school drama outfits which were long pants and a short sleeved top. Now for our type, short sleeved tops are a no go, along with shorts, because well, scars are a big issue and we don't want to attract to mutch attention. So we asked if we could wear long sleeved tops. The instructor was fine with this, especially once we had shown him our ready prepared note from our 'mothers'. We quickly got changed and entered the drama hall, everyone else was already sat inside chatting away. As the only pupils not wearing the required kit, we got a few weird looks but as all good killers do, we brushed them off. Hale sat down near the back and looked around the room "don't do that! You know how suspicious that looks?!" I hiss and sit down next to him. Hale rolled his eyes at me through his floppy brown fringe. We continued to glance around the room at the other class mates or potential threats, until the teacher looked up from her computer "quiet for the register, please!" she shouted over the pupils chatting. The noise started to die down as the register was called by full names, I made sure I made a mental note of all the names, but one stuck.

I screwed my face up in confusion. Hale noticed and asked "what's up with your face? Is something wrong?" " does the name Rose Mccann mean anything to you? I think I recognise it but I cant remember from where?" I say. "hmmn after this I will run it through the computers, maybe she is a threat but im sure you can handle her." Hale said with a grin while patting my leg where I had hidden a small knife incase. The teacher continued to talk "for todays lesson, I would like you to pare up and practise the Shakespeare's plays. You have until they end of this lesson before I single some of you out to perform." I took a quick glance at Hale who nodded and I stepped towards Shane, but before I could take another step, another girl bounced up to him and partnered up. My brows screwed up in frustration as I went back to Hale. I looked around to see other girls trying to edge closer to Hale but this time I stepped in first and took Hale's hand. "come on, Hale!" I said dragging him by the hand. The girls shot me a few death looks but I was used to them.

"what happened?" Hale asked. "someone got there before me." I snapped back. Hale's eyes darted around the room and rested on the girl and the boy on the opposite side of the room laughing together. " did the information say he had a girlfriend?" Hale whispered. "not officially, no" I answered. As trained assassins, we were easily able to get into a different character and perform a scene from Macbeth without any trouble. So when the teacher walked past we were given praise. Between the teachers gaze we had conversations about how to handle this mission correctly. "well in my mind, there are only two people a boy can trust, his girlfriend and his bestfreind." Hale said pointing to the both of us. "ugh, I have to be his girlfriend?" I asked whilst pulling a face. "yup, I mean as long as he doesn't already have one, but like I said earlier, that can be easily solved any way." I sigh and glance in Shane's direction. I catch him watching the two of us and smile at Hale. "I don't think we have too much of a problem."

After drama class and finished we were sent to get changed, now I realised that this would be a little harder, I had gotten changed when everyone else had gone so I didn't have to revial my upper body to anyone, but now I had to change into the uniform without the top in front of these girls. After a moment deciding my face lit up like a light bulb had just switched on. I moved towards the light switch and clumsily fell onto the switch turning everything into darkness. No one noticed that after the screams had died down and the light switch was found that there was one more girl completely changed and ready to go. I waited for hale who was just as quick. We had already decided in drama that I was going to tail Rose and Hale was going to go look her up. So we exchanged a look and walked off in separate directions. According to the information I quickly got off the teachers computer, Rose lived on the other side of the school. I followed her, keeping a steady distance until she arrived at her corridor.

This is my last chance. I stumbled over and fell to the floor with a small cry of pain. Noticing this, Rose came back and asked if I was alright whilst helping my get to my feet. I put my hand on her back to steady myself but really I attached a mini camera onto her, which should spring out ont to a wall when she goes inside her room. I thanked her again before turning the corner and walking back to my room. on the way there I pressed the little button on my tag and spoke quietly "did you find anything on her? Camera is in position." Immediately Hale answered "nope her records are clean, and okay I will put them up, where are you?" I was about to answer Hale before I saw Shane walking past the corridor and into the teachers dorm. "Gotta go, target has been spotted" I whispered hurriedly. I followed him and watched behind a corner as he knocked on Mr Martin's door, he was our PE teacher. I listened carefully and recorded their conversation, it sounded like Shane was asking the teacher for help in PE, and They discussed tactics and tutors and gave me an idea.

I slipped a tracker onto the floor, knowing his walking patterns, he will stand on it. I quickly disappeared from there to Hales room. "KNOCK! KNOCK!" I banged on the door a few times before Hale let me in. "what happened?" he asked me. "Oh, nothing much, but I have a good idea." I grinned at Hale who looked surprised. "Okay? So what is it?" he asked suspiciously. "Well, it looks like our little friend needs help in PE. And I think we could help him out a bit…" I said smiling proudly. "That should be fun." Hale grinned back. "Anyway, tell me about rose." I started. "Well there isn't much to tell, she is a good student, clean recorords and a happy background." Hale says. "hmmn, what about the camera." I ask. "nothing surprising." Hale answers while he clicks onto a link at the bottom of the screen, a live view of Rose sleeping popped up onto the screen. "fine. We will investigate further tomorrow, its PE after all. Night hale." I say as I close his door behind me. I walk across to my door and go inside. Once ripping off my shoes I lay down in my bed. The constant noises of my clock kept me up thinking. Wondering. Again.


	4. Chapter 4

The small alarm clock beside my bed alerted me at 6AM, but I was already awake. My hand thwacked the small clock in a reflex movement as soon as the small noise hit my ears. The clock fell to the floor, smashed. I got up and had a shower before changing into the schools PE kit. The jumper hugged my figure unlike the uniform had, and the tracksuit bottoms were fitted around my hips. I tied my hair back and examined myself in the mirror. "ugh." I groaned. "why does my character have to look like, this." I said under my breath. I patted my pockets were two large knives were in hiding and walked out the door to see Hale looking similar. "so, looking forward to this?" hale said in a flat voice. "you know it." I sigh back as the corridors started to fill with students.

We walked out to the separate PE building and joined the rest of the class inside a big hall. We stood in the corner and I found all possible exits blocked except the one we had come in by. I furrowed my brow in thought as Hale read my mind. "Don't worry, we will probably be sent outside to work." He whispered. I nodded uncertainly.

The teacher cleared his throat "ahem! Now that everyone is here, we can start. First I would like everyone to pair up and attempt the run up, we tried last week but you all seemed unable, lets see if anyone practised." The teacher walked to the end of the hall and gestured to a large spring board and a mat. I grabbed Hales arm jogged to the other end. A few other students had started to try but all failed as I ran up. Before I reached the board I glanced around too see that I had, the attention of the teacher and most of the other boys in the room. I ran up and jumped into the air, I spun and landed on the edge of the mat furthest away from the board. I swiftly moved out of the way as I watched Hale leap into the air aswell and somersault to land in an upright position on the mat. I smiled, not even a little out of breath. The teacher walked over looking impressed. "wow, you two are very gifted in this!" he beamed at us.

Out of the corner of my eyes I watched people stare at us and then started to see the next students running. I counted up until Shane was next. Mr Martin was still talking as I cut him short "erm maybe you should watch the other kids?" I asked with a concerned smile. He turned just as Shane missed the board and fell onto the mat. The teacher cringed as he went over. Hale helped Shane up, "now Shane, I just thought about our discussion yesterday, I think we have a solution, from today you will work with these too other students to progress through the class. Understood?" Mr Martin says. Shane looks at us and blushes. "understood, sir." The the teacher left us alone. "sorry for making you look after me." Shane mumbled. "not at all, we will gladly help you out." Hale started. "looks like next is running, can you do that?" I asked giving him a small smile. "yeah! Im pretty good at running, Kat." He exclaims and adds my name as a second thought. I beam at him and say "good! Lets get started then!" we walk outside onto the field. Hale orders Shane to run as he shouts go. We watch him move around the track. "ha, I thought he said he could run!" I say sniggering. "maybe in his terms, that IS running." Hale replied chuckling.

After a few minutes Shane stopped at our feet and bent down to catch his breath, his hands on his knees. "well done! Now, me and Shane are gonna try. Kay?" I ask once he calmed down. He nods and I can still here his heart racing as he yells go. I shoot off down the lane closely following Hale. We pass several students who are running and stop abruptly at Shanes feet. " heh, that was fun." I say with a grin. "how did you… what… how did you guys do that?!" Shane stuttered with wide eyes. "easy! And with a little work you can do that too!" Hale said with a smile. I nodded in agreement. "no way! I cant do something like that!" he continued. We were about to reply but Mr Martin blew the whistle and everyone quickly gathered around him.

I felt something in the back of my head like a nagging thought while the teacher talked. It felt like I should know something, like something was about to happen that I should know about but didn't. I looked around searching for any signs or clues, I nudged Hale and whispered "somethings up." He nods and starts to look around too. My eyes catch on something down by the banking. "I think I see something, keep them busy." I say quietly to Hale. I hear Hale speak up to the teacher as I duck low and hurry down the slope. I dart across to one of the trees by the fence that seperates the schools playing field, to a regular field. I look up the tree but no one is there, I scan the perimeter but still no living thing comes up on my radar. I nudge a small bush on the ground with my foot and see a pair of glasses underneath. I reach down for them with my left hand.

Suddenly, a large arrow shot from the tree, I was too slow to realise and it struck just under my wrist. I bit back a howl of pain and pulled it out of my bleeding arm, dropping the glasses and threw the arrow far over the fence out of sight. I grasped my arm, desperate to stop the bleeding. The last thing I needed was attention, a hundred different ways of escaping blurred through my mind. I was staining the grass, and before I knew it I my eye lids were drooping "no!" I said under my breath firmly. I dragged myself up and pulled down my sleeve to cover up the bloody injury. I then steadily climbed the banking back up to the class that was leaving back to the gym hall.

I staggered over to hale who was at the back of the class, watching over everyone. I grasped his arm with my good hand and stopped him sharply. Blood was dripping through my jumper; Hale turned and looked me up and down. "you've gotten yourself into a mess. Tsk." He says, taking me by my arm to inspect the wound. "Hmmn, better get you back to the room." he said as his eyes widened slowly. Hale tried keeping calm as he watched the blood patch on my jumper grow darker. I felt my arm going numb, my eye lids growing heavy again. Hale noticed and sighed, "Fine." My limbs were heavy so I couldn't object when Hale picked me up and ran down past the school to the back entrance. He didn't put me down until he had gone through the empty corridors and into his own room. He rested me on the bed and he immediately opened a large box.

"this isn't going to hurt, is it?" I say limply. "Erm. Yeah, but I think you can handle it." He says with a grin. He pulls out a spray I remember from a while ago when I had made a large gash in my side, and sprays it thoroughly over my wrist. I wince in pain and he strips off a big plaster to place over my wrist. After that he takes a bandage and carefully wraps it around my arm. "Done, you feel okay Kat?" Hale asks pulling over a chair. "Yeah, sure. Thanks." I say back. "Who did this to you?" Hale says looking confused. "I don't know, there were a pair of glasses on the floor, I tried to pick them up but an arrow shot out at me." I reply simply. "Glasses? Have you made any new enemies since the last time I saw you?" he smiles softly. "Hmmph, not that I know of."

"Right, you stay here, and I will go look at this tree and glasses. Don't worry I'll take a button camera so you can watch in case anything happens." Hale says and walks out of the door throwing a jacket over his back. I sit there in silence, again. I look at my arm that was covered in a dull white bandage. I tried to flex my wrist but pain shot up through me. I took my arm in one hand and heaved myself off of the bed to the desk chair. I sat down and clicked onto the camera link. The screen lit up as I watched everything that Hale was seeing. The doors, the walls, then outside. I watched him go down the banking and up to the tree. I saw him searching the ground for any traces. I looked at the blank spot on the screen were there should have been a tree, should have been a pair of glasses. In their place lay a single match stick.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day I was still recovering but was able to move about and it was a few minutes before the first bell went, when me and hale discussed yesterday's events. "and your utterly sure it wasn't there before? And that the tree and glasses were at that exact spot?" Hale asked me for the umpteenth time. "yes! Are you sure there was no one about? No traces at all? I mean I picked up no scents of a human." I replied. Hale was holding the match stick in his fore finger and thumb as if it were a puzzle that he couldn't crack. He sighed. "ugh, we will talk about this later. The first bell is about to go, we might as well head over to science." I nod and get up off of his bed, I try to keep my wrist still but I flinch and a little pain shoots through me. I ignore it and keep a straight face. Hale grabs my good arm and stares at me; seeing straight through my poker face. "it still hurts, huh?" I hesitate before answering "not really." He keeps a hold of my arm a little longer but soons loosens his grip. He opens his door and we go into the corridor.

Around half way through science, we were doing an experiment by joining up an oh so simple circuit to light up a bulb. I was spaced out staring out the window with my chin resting on my hand. Hale was sat opposite me and was rolling his eyes when the other boys on our table weren't looking. I awoke from my trance and glanced over at Hale, he was currently looking casually over at Shane who looked helplessly at the wires in front of him. I could see the reflection in Hales eyes. I blinked twice as I realised there was a light tapping on my shoulder. I turned around to see the boy sat next to me, watching intently at my every move. I jerked my head back in surprise and he smiled. "ha, sorry for spooking you! Could you help me with joining this wire up? It's a bit fiddly for me." He says and shrugs innocently. I force a smile at such an average request. How boring. I reach out with my left hand but think better and pull it back under the table to my lap. I get my right hand and awkwardly reach out for the wires. The boy looks at me with confusion. "why don't you use both hands?" he asks me and reaches for my hand under the table.

I can feel Hale watching and when he hauls my wrist above the table his eyes go wide in concern. I wince unconsciously and he drops my hand in surprise. "what? Did I hurt your hand?" he asks worriedly. I try to smile but it must have came out a little weird and he takes my arm again before rolling up my sleeve. "woah. What did you do to your arm!?" he tells me and examines the bandages. I shuffle uncomfortably in my chair and my eyes dart over to Hale for an answer. He frowns and gets out of his chair to stand beside me. "she just sprained it in PE yesterday is all." Hale says smoothly. I nod in agreement and the boy nods understandingly. "ah, oh yeah! You guys were proper good!" "thanks." I say while Hale goes back to his seat.

I fix the wires with my right hand and turn my attention to Shane, I glanced over at him and I found him looking indiscreetly in my direction. I blinked once and cocked my head to one side, trying to play dumb and he shakes his head and drops it to the table as his cheeks flush red. I smile to myself and turn back to the window to think.

The bell goes sooner than I had thought and I pack up my things, I walk out of the classroom amongst the wave of students before walking side by side next to Hale. "that was a little awkward, next time you have to be more careful." Hale says seriously. "hmmpf, me? Careful?" I say mockingly. I pat my side where we both knew was a knife hidden. He rolls his eyes before hitting me on the shoulder playfully. "okay, anyway, what were you thinking about back then?" he says questionably. I look at him confused before a look of understanding washes over my face. "ahhh. Oh, I was just thinking about that match stick." "yeah, what about it?" he replies. "well, what if it's a sign?" he stares in front of us for a while. "wait, like there's going to be a fire or something?" I nod. "hmmn, keep an eye out. I mean we definitely know something's trying to stop us from doing the job." Hale says. We stop talking and enter the cooking classroom.

We walk to the back of the room and I observe the surroundings. It was quite a peaceful place, we were high up in the building and there were tall windows that lined one wall. I gazed out and was able to see the vast playing field. We were stood in the back corner close to the windows. Shane was stood on the opposite side of the room close to the window also. The teacher started to talk as everyone took their seats. It was adouble lesson so during the first half we made our cakes and then the next we sat and listened to the teacher. We had just finished making the cakes and they were cooling down as everyone started to clean up the dishes.

I sat down and randomly looked out of the window out onto the field. Instantly a light caught my eye, I squinted and tried to look into the trees at the orangey glow. The mysterious orb floated in mid air between two trees. Suddenly something shifted behind it and a tall figure was revealed. My eyes widened in panick as the scene sunk in, the sphere of light was actually a flaming arrow, the figure had just moved from aiming at myself to the other end of the classroom. Where, Shane was sat. my eyes darted around in wild concentration, looking for a way to save Shane. Hale noticed at once and came over to me. He took me by the shoulders and shook me "woah, Kat! Whats wrong!" I pointed directly out of the window and he looked to and from the silhouette to Shane. He slowly understood and whispered "im guessing this, is what the match stick meant." I nodded and he looked to his left. i watched as he jerked his hand outwards and banged hard on the fire alarm. A loud ringing noise sounded out immediately through out the room and soon spread out down into the school.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and some girls shouted in a frenzy. I rolled my eyes and sighed in relief when Shane had mixed in with the frightened crowd. Then I noticed that the figure had disappeared, I should have felt relieved but an uneasy feeling settled in the bottom of my stomach. We filed out of the class room and down onto the back pitch. Away from the figure. We stood in lines and awaited further instructions, lots of teachers had been running around like head less chickens, obviously in a state of confusion. I almost chuckled to myself as all their efforts were going to waste. It was funny to think that I could have single handedly done much more damage to this school than any fire could do. After a while of standing on the sodden grass, the head teacher walked out onto the field with a megaphone in hand. They began to speak "okay, sorry for alarming you, we have searched the whole of the school but still no fire has been found. We are still unaware of what had actually happened and at the moment we just presume it was some prank pulled. We will get to the bottom of this but for now you can go back to your classrooms. It is almost time for lunch so please collect your things and carry on the day how you should." Sighs of happiness were heard as the head teacher said these words.

Ifollowed the rest of our class indoors but stopped to wait for Hale. He had run off when we got outside to search for the figure. He came through the door very calmly and spoke "no traces, nothing at all. Not even another 'clue'" he shrugs and we walk back up to join the end of our class. We go inside and go to wrap up our cakes. I go over towards mine whilst rolling out tinfoil. I stop dead in my tracks and drop the role, the last of the class trail out and the teacher goes into the sepereate office so its just me and Hale. Good thing too, otherwise some of those kids would have gotten a little scared. I walked over to my table to the expected plain cake but i peered down at the cake. It had been iced beautifully but on top sat a bullet.

I picked it up and Hale came to stand next to me. He looked down and said "well, at least we know what this means?" "what? You mean that their going to try and shoot at Shane this time?" Hale shrugged and took the bullet from me. "I will examine it later, but it looks like a machine gun. any way go and look for Shane. I want you to stick with him through out lunch okay?" "got it!" I say, I walk out the door but not before I dump the cake into the bin.

I jump down the stairs and out into the corridor, I go down the empty hallways and I stopped my ears twitched, I heard nothing. NOTHING. It was too quiet, I started up again and ran down the corridors to the lunch hall doors. I paused and flung open the doors.

Hundreds of bodies lay broken and bloody on the floor, I gasped and stood back taking it in. the back doors hung open and bounced from the walls, my chest heaved up and down faster and faster but I don't know why, ive seen this more than once. I quickly scanned the hall, I saw rose spread out with her eyes open on the floor. but, no Shane. "Shane!" I yell. "where are you?!" no reply. I suddenly hear a clatter in the kitchen and a quick curse. I run and jump over the bodies and dragged open the kitchen door. Shane was sitting in the corner with his knees drawn up and blood splashed on his face and uniform. I opened my eyes and bent down to him. He opened his eyes and almost screamed. I quickly placed my hand over his mouth. "shh. Its okay. Im going to protect you, you don't need to be scared." He looks as if he is about to cry and I worry that maybe he wont come with me. "okay, I need you to come with me now, we are going to get you to a safe place." He shook his head and started to shake. Suddenly Hale shouted "KAT! KAT?" where are you?!" I shouted back "they are all dead but Shane is in here! Go out the back door, I think that's where they escaped!" "what? Okay! Im calling a jet!" the sound of running echoed around the silent hall.

I looked back at Shane who looked pretty white at that point. "look, you need to come with us, we wont hurt you. If you stay here, its likely that those people will come back and they WILL kill you." He looks at me with frightened eyes before nodding slowly. I pull him to his feet and see that his leg was bleeding. "oh, you've been shot!" he looks down and nods like it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. I put one of his arms over my shoulder and support him out of the kitchen door. "okay, close your eyes, you might not want to see this." He does as he's told and closes his eyes shut tight. We step into the large puddles of blood and make it to the door, I quickly look around and see Hale running towards us. "HEY! IS SHANE OKAY?" Hale shouts across to us as he shoots in our direction. "yeah! I think he's going to go into shock soon though, and he has been shot in the leg!" I yell back. Hale stops infront of us and supports Shane's other arm with his own.


	6. Chapter 6

The jet is lying on the field waiting as we turn the corner. Shane gasps and we drag him to the stairs that desend towards the ground. We help him aboard and I place him in a chair whilst a catch up with Hale." Hey, so no signs?" I ask "none, no traces what so ever. I searched the perimeter and found nothing. Again." I frown slowly before saying "hmmph, what should we do?" he shrugs "well go sort out his leg and we will head to my place in the east for now, I don't think the boss will love this." "your right, he wont." I turned and went to aid Shane.

He was slumped in a chair breathing shakily. "you feeling better yet?" I ask hesitantly. He slowly turns his head to face me and whispers "is everyone dead…?" I don't say anything and just stare into his eyes. He works out the answer and looks down at the floor. " come on, show me your wound." I say tenderly. He pulls up his pant leg and I inspect the damage. "looks like it only grazed you but your still bleeding so let me wrap it up." I tell him whilst reaching out for the roll of cloth. I wrap it tightly and he winces, "don't worry, I think you'll live." I joke. He doesn't smile so I stop talking and go back to Hale. "so, what do you mean 'your place'" I ask. "hmmn? Oh, well I have a place in the east that we're going to. We cant exactly go back to the boss' place can we? And its not like he's safe anywhere else. I know you've never 'protected' anyone before but that's what you do." He replies. I roll my eyes and continue "okay, okay I get it. So how long is it gonna be?" "erm… half an hour? Its close by but hidden away." He explains while checking his watch.

I nod and go back into the mane section of the jet. "im getting changed." I call back as I walk into the toilets with a duffel bag. I quickly strip and pull on my tight, black suit. I slit the knives and other weapons into their holders before flinging the tacky uniform back in the bag. I tie my hair up in a tight pony tail and step back out into the main part. Shane looks up and his eyes widen in confusion. "pfft, oh yeah, this is what I usually wear." I say matter of factly.

He keeps staring and I sit down next to him. I throw the bag onto the seat opposite and place my feet up calmly. " what are you?" he asks suddenly. I turn my head to face him and chuckle. "hmmn, I cant tell you, but to you, im the good guy." I say with a wink. He frowns at that answer "so, you've killed people? Like the woman who killed the people at school?" with this I bang my feet down and jerk my head forward in confusion. "wait! A, woman?" I ask. "well, yeah. She was wearing a similar outfit to you but looked worse, she started screaming my name and shooting people… I got scared and ran into the kitchen. I think she heard your footsteps and fled." He says, his voice breaking. "I left them to die, like a coward." He pulls up his knees and sinks his head down into them. I nod understandingly and rub the top of his back "there was nothing you could have done, so don't blame yourself."

I stand up and strode into the pilot area to where Hale was observing the pilot. "hey, Hale." He turns and asks "what? Wait your all dressed up I see." "listen. Shane says that a woman attacked the school." I say seriously. "what? A woman?" I nod in response. "hmmn, I don't know any woman capable of that much massacre." "neither do i." I say simply. "master Hale, 5 minutes to landing." Says the pilot. " okay, Ed." Hale responds.

"oh, who's this?" I ask changing topics. "oh, yeah you probably havnt met. This is my butler, Edward, his ansestors have looked after mine for so long, we go back a while." Hale says kindly. "oh, nice to meet you Edward." I say casually and flash him a smile. Edward flicks a switch and gets up from the seat, he turns to me and extends a gloved hand. " hello, miss Kat. Please call me Ed, I am very pleased to meet you, Master Hale has told me quite a lot about you." I shake his hand and glance at Hale. "oh, he has, has he?" he smiles warmly and I decide that I like Ed, he then returns to his seat and flicks the switch again. "okay tell Shane that we are landing." I leave and return to Shane.

"hey, we are landing now." I say and am about to walk to my bag when he stops me "where?" he grabs my arm. "what? Oh, Hales place. Don't worry, it's a safe place." He doesn't let go and tugs me towards him. I stumble but he doesn't loosen his grip. "whats happening." He asks me stiffly. I get annoyed with him pushing me around and swing around, pinning him to his chair. He cant move and I bring my mouth close to his ear. "look, I cant tell, you and it would be a shame if ii had to kill you, so don't keep irritating me, kay?" I ask. He nods violent to show he understood and I let him go.

He stays in the position for a while before relaxing. Suddenly the jet dips down and Shane grips the arms of the chair in a panic. I chuckle to myself and stand upright in front of him. Suddenly we dip again and touch the surface of the ground below. We roll to a stop and I pull up one of the window blinds. I look out at the beach and a calm ocean swaying gently to an unknown rhythm. I cross the floor and open up another window to see a large mansion standing further up the beach protected by the mountin that loomed over it and away from civilisation. "of, course, if Hale was going to live somewhere, it was going to be here." I say under my breath as I study the grounds. I heard Shane get up and I turn around to meet his height. He walks slowly to the door and tests the floor each time he takes a step like the floor will give way to him.

Hale and Ed come out of the other door and join us at the door. Ed steps in front and opens the door with a flourish, the stairs fall down and into the soft sand, sinking further in with each step we take, out and down. When everyone is out Ed starts to walk towards the building and Shane follows closely behind while I tag a long next to Hale at the back.

I nudge him in the ribs playfully. "okay, so ive got to admit, this house is pretty amazing looking. I never really knew you had a house of your own." "aha, first it's a mansion, second, well the boss recruited me only last year, so I kinda had a home before that." He shrugged innocently. "hmmn, okay I suppose so. Well how long will we have to stay here?" i ask in reply. "well, we have to work something out, and before the boss knows that we almost had him killed, because there is going to be police, investigators maybe worse people who go to that school and see whats happened. I actually think we should train him with some basic skills so if we have to leave him, he is not completely defenceless." Hale states. "hmmph, you can train him." I say in a huff as we come to the grand doors.


	7. Chapter 7

Ed takes out a key and inserts it carfully and turns it slowly until it clicks loudly. He opens the door wide and we enter. I take in the huge staircase that on its own was beautiful and the fantastically decorated walls on each side just framed it as a bonus. To our left was a single door and to our right was a corridor with several doors in view. Ed led us down the corridor and to the end where a large door sat proudly, the door frame had been laced gracefully in a gold pattern and the door was carpented to perfection.

We stepped inside to the dimly lit room of the light leaking in from cracks in the curtains. Ed walked over and pulled the curtains open sharply. Light beamed in and showered the room, revieling the mass of furniture. Hale walked over to a large couch in the center of the room and flopped down, he thrust his feet out and rested them on the glazed table in front. I followed and did the same on an arm chair next to him. Shane stood by Hale looking down nervously at us shifting his weight from one foot to the other. I motioned my head for him to sit down in the arm chair opposite and he stiffly perched on top of it like it was made of steel.

"so. How are you feeling, Shane." Hale started. Shane looked up alarmed at the mention of his name and replied "oh erm, im fine, thanks." Hale glanced at me and I spoke up "I think you just need some rest huh?" he smiled gently in my direction and nodded slightly. "okie dokie, what do you guys want for tea?" said Hale. Shane and I shrugged in unison and Hale sighed, "ED!" he called. Ed appeared almost instantly "yes, master Hale?" "could you make something nice for tea?" Hale asked. Ed answered "of course." And left with a small bow. I looked at Hale "im impressed." He smirked in remark. "hey, do you guys want to see your rooms?!" Hale says excitedly. "yeah, sure!" I say unenthusiastically.

Hale gets up and myself and Shane follow. We go back down the corridor and up the stairs, Hale takes us across the landing and points to one room. "Shane, that one is my brothers old room, its yours for now. If you need anything, ask me or Ed, he will come for you when tea is ready." Shane nods and enters the room, I see him look a little happier and he flops down on the bed. Hale closes the door and we go around another corner. We stop at another door and he says " okay, this was my mothers room, you can have it for now." He smiles and opens the door, inside was very beautiful. The walls were painted lilac and the bed was neatly made up of white bedding and and pink cushions. There was a creamy wardrobe and a luxurious white couch in one corner.

I laughed at my own reactions. "woah, Hale this room is amazing! But a little girly, don't ya think?" I say teasingly. He grins at me and says "okay well im next door and I will come get you when tea is ready." He walks out of the door and I got to my window. I look out and see the ocean brushing at the beach. It looked so peaceful and then I remembered about the horrible experience that happened just a few hours ago. I sighed deeply and stepped back from the window, I knew that if I looked out there for too long, id jump.

But no one else knew, that was just one of my secret faults. I came to the bed and sat down heavily on the neatly made quilt. The fabric entwined around my fingers and I realised how much I didn't belong in this room. me, someone who doesn't do good things, who probably shouldn't be in the world, yet I am sat in this pretty room that belonged to a wonderful woman. Just the thought of this made me feel uneasy. The bedding suddenly felt like slate as my hands sprang away from the fabric. I rubbed my hands down my pants like I was trying to get off the feeling from my hands. I leapt up and started to pace to and fro across the room, I shook my head trying to clear my mind. Okay, okay! I need to focus! I need to protect Shane and kill who ever is hunting him down! As soon as ive done that I can go back to my normal life! I thought. I clamped my hands to my face and closed my eyes tight, trying to get a clear picture in my mind. Nothings working and I feel more and more agitated with myself. Argh! What is wrong with me! I groan in annoyance and fall to the floor. I clutch my head in my hands and draw my knees up close.

Suddenly there is a soft knock at the door. I lift my head up and stare daggers at the door handle. There is a muffled voice saying "hey, Kat! Tea is ready can I come in?". I drag my limbs up and stand infront of the door. I pull open the door violently and Hale steps back quickly. "woah. Whats up with you?" he says. I say nothing and go to bang on Shane's door. I was about to place my fist down when Hale caught my arm and spun me around to face him "Ed already got Shane, are you okay?" I heaved a sigh and forced a smile, "im, fine. I just banged my arm is all." I say coldly and dangle my injured arm infront of him. He looked at me displeased but ignored it and went down the stairs and through the corridors. We went a little further than the first room we went to and went through a large pair of doors. It was a big hall with a table and a kitchen at one end. We walked over to where Shane was sitting, smiling. "hey, Shane. You look better." I say and force another smile. He nods enthusiastically, I sit down next to him and Hale sits opposite. Infront of us are empty bowls and five different spoons next to it. I pick up the middle one and so does Shane copying my movements and Hale looks at us weirdly before picking up his smallest spoon. I shrugged. "hey, Ed! We're ready!" called Hale. Ed walked up to the table with a large bowl and a ladle in hand and swiftly poured the chucky soup into our bowls. The warm steamy scents soothed me and we all began to eat. It was delicious and I thanked Ed as soon as I had finished.

The boys were just about finished and it was getting dark outside so I said "right, im going up guys. Im tired out from I will see you in the morning." Shane mumbled a "good night, Kat." And Hale says "good night, kat ill make sure Shane gets to bed soon." I smirked and walked back down the corridor and up the stairs. I stopped at my door and took a deep breath. I walked inside and flicked the lights on. I walked to the window and stared out for just a moment and then quickly drew them close together. I went to the large bed and clambered inside the thick quilts. I switched the light off by my side and lay down in the darkness. I closed my eyes and drifted into a sleep.

I must have only slept for a few hourse when I suddenly heard a noise outside my room, I quickly got up out of my bed with out a word and peered under the door to look for shadows. None. I slowly opened the door and held my knife close by. It was dark outside on the landing but, I was already trained to see.

I crept out but still saw nothing I decided to check on Shane. I went to his door and opened it slowly, he was sound a sleep. I closed it gently. I thought over the possibilities of another attack and decided to stay outside his door for tonight, just in case someone tracked us here. I leaned against the wall next to his door and slumped down to the floor. I drew my knees up close and rested my elbows on top to prop up my head. I stayed sat there for a while before I started to think, again. I cant do this again I thought. I banged back my head and it thudded against the wall making a bang. I cursed under my breath and hoped I hadn't woken Hale, no such luck.

Hale's door swung open and he stepped out . "what are you doing, Kat?" he whispers while rubbing his eyes. "go back to bed hale, im just keeping an eye out." I whisper back. "what?" he asks but doesn't wait for an answer as he walks over and slumps down opposite me. He draws his knees up to and imitates my position. I roll my eyes and say "go, you need to get some sleep." He replies "no way, you should go get to bed! I will stay up." I groan in irritation. "its obvious your tired, just go to sleep." I say. "pfft, no im not! You just woke me up." He tells me. We stare at each other for a while before he gives up and rolls his head back on his shoulders and rests it gently on the wall. I sigh. "sorry about before by the way, I was just a little angry." I confess. "oh yeah, what happened, you acted a bit cold." He asks me. "its nothing, really." I reply hesitantly. He rolls his eyes in the darkness at my answer and sighs deeply.

We sit in silence for a while until I think Hale had dozed off. I stuck my leg out and touched him gently with the tip of my foot, he slowly opened his eyes and pushed his foot forward to nudge me as well. "thought you were asleep." I whisper at him. He shakes his head in response and says "lokk, nothing is going to happen to him, im going back to bed, and you are too." I glare at him and say "no im not, im staying up." He sighs and gets up and steps towards me, he bends down and grabs both my arms. He pulls me upright and close to himself. "your freezing, Kat. Go get some more sleep." I stay silent and he opens my door. he pulls me inside, and points to the bed. "go on, im not leaving until you get in there." I huff at him and slowly crawl under the duvet. He smiles at me, obviously pleased and whispers "good night, Kat. Now don't get back out of bed or there will be trouble." I sigh in defeat and lean back on my pillows as Hale shuts the door behind him. I turn the light back off and once again drift back to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Morning came and I woke up to the sound of the gentle waves crashing down on the edge of the beach. I swung my legs around the bed and yawned. I stretched my arms up and swirled my ankles. I got up and went to the window. Light beams peeked through the curtains and I opened them drowsily. I didn't bother to look and went to the bedroom door. I opened the door and stepped out into the warmth of the corridor. I heard the sound of a kettle down the stairs and the clashing of plates. I rubbed my eyes and went down stairs. The boys sat opposite each other and looked a little sleepy. "morning." I murmured and crossed the room to greet them.

they looked at me happily and Hale's eyes lingered on me for a little longer as I sat down next to him. "so, you slept?" he mumbled under his breath." I glared at him and spoke to Shane "so, you feeling better today? Because, I think we could probably explain some things to you now." I winked and he replied "yes thanks! I guess I just needed some rest, so you can tell me who you are?" I touched the side of my nose with the tip of my finger and he rolled his eyes. "so, whats for breakfast?" I asked hungrily. Ed strode in through the kitchen and placed steaming plates of scrambled egg in front of us.

Shane licked his lips and Hale thanked Ed. "thanks Ed." I chorused and he bowed slightly. "not t all, Miss Kat" he smiled gently before returning to the kitchen, his old grey suit flowing behind him. I let a small smile play on my lips before digging into the food. After finishing the food we decided to get changed and meet outside on the beach. I agreed and started to go up the stairs before Ed called out "miss kat? Please wait." I stopped and turned around to see Ed. "whats up Ed?" I asked. "oh, erm Master Hale asked me to prepare you some clothes. They are set out in the wardrobe in your room, if you have any complaints please tell me immediately." He said this with a warm smile, then turned to the corridor.

Oh great, I wonder what I have to wear.. I thought as I climbed the staircase. I walked into my room and went to the wardrobe. I opened it to find a few skirts, dresses and tops hung up and neatly pressed. I sighed in defeat and pulled out a navy skirt and a long sleeved black top. I pulled them on after discarding my black suit. They fitted fine but I looked a little more feminine than I liked. The skirt reached just above the knees and I glanced at my black boots standing to attention by the door. I opened the wardrobe again and looked down to see a row of colourful flat shoes. I picked up a blue pair and stared at them in disgust. "ugh, how can I run in these." I said under my breath. I shoved them on and strung my hair up into a tight pony tail. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and sighed deeply before muttering "if I have any complaints, huh?". I walked down the stairs as I could hear no noises coming from either rooms and opened the large door.

outside stood Hale and Shane in dark shirts facing the wind, there hair waving behind them, Hale wore dark sunglasses and turned his head to face me, a grin on his face. "so you found the clothes. I see." He syas whilst moving his head in a motion of looking me up and down. I glared at him and replied "hmmph, why are you guys all dressed up?" "we get to go into the town. We need to see if there is any news." I nod and Shane comes up "hey kat! You look reaaly nice today." He says this and blushes. I reply "thanks, you to." And stalk over to Hale without even looking at Shane.

He tosses a pair of dark sunglasses like his at me and says quiet enough for just my ears "wear these, if you see any danger only me and you will know." I nod and say "okay boys, should we get going?" I set off walking in the direction of the town but Hale steps behing me and once again cuts the bobble supporting my hair. "I told you, you look better with it down." I galare at him and he ignores it by walking ahead casually towards the pathway up over the mountain. I follow and so does Shane to the mountain path. We climb up for about ten minutes until we can hear the familiar sound of a car racing past us. We reach the top and cross the almost empty road and look over the hill towards the lively town. "that's the town." Says Hale. "oh, this is close to.." then he stops himself before saying his own town.

I look at him worried for a second before saying "anyway, what are we planning on doing down there?" Hale stiil looking down at the busy streets replied "well, im going to take Shane to look around and you have a little job." I nodded and saw Shane's confused face out of the corner of my eye. We continued down into town and stopped outside a small coffee shop. "okay kat, go find out about the school, contact me if you find anything. He taps the rim of his glasses and I understand. "okay, see you later." I reply with a wave.

Hale walks into the crowd with Shane and I disperse among the wave of people also. First, the paper shop. I thought and recalled the flight here and how I had seen the small paper shop hidden between a hairdressers and a restaurant. I walked through the streets casually until the hair dressers came into view. I went inside and bought a paper. As soon as I was out of the shop I sprang open the paper and saw the same sight I had seen last night. 'MASS MURDER IN DUNBRIDGE ACADAMY.' I stare at the picture of blurry bodies and read the small paragraph. ….all students dead….no survivors…brutal killing…. I flinched as I scanned the horrific information. I folded it up and tucked it under my arm.

Next, I though, is the school. I knew it was close to twenty minutes away from here by jet so it should be a little over half an hour if I run. I clambered through the people and tried to get out into the emptier area by he woods. I ended up going through a narrow back street as a shortcut and I strode down it, suddenly I felt eyes on me and that I was being followed, I glanced behind my back incase it was a threat and a group of teenagers were walking down behind me. Ugh, I don't think I can climb over the back wall if they are coming down here too. I sighed and decided to turn around to go back. I spun around and my hair flipped with me I brushed it back and knocked my glasses down onto my eyes.

the girls, who were a little younger than me smirked. I rolled my eyes secretly and started walking towards them. the boys were a little older than me but not by much. They watched me and one whistled as I came closer. Might as well have a little fun, I thought to myself. I stopped walking and turned to face the boy, his friends were laughing and pushing him forward. A girl was clutching the boys arm and was looking at me in disgust. I slowly raised my hands and took off the sunglasses, my blue eyes sparkling, I could tell as the boy's eyes got wider, I shook my head as my hair fell onto my shoulders.

"look, I don't want to hurt you, so leave me alone please." I smiled gently at the boy in front. He gulped and the girl on his arm said coldly "what? We weren't doing anything. You're the one who's sneaking down allies." I turn to her and smile brightly "yes, but your boyfriend is irritating me, I would like to get passed, so move." She scoffs and her and her friends move to block my way. I sigh irritated. "I'm warning you, I have a bad side." The boys then try to move the girls but they stay still and smirk in unison before the lead girl says "go on then, just TRY to move me!" she was a skinny girl, not really pretty, that's why she flew so far when I kicked her. I shot my foot out and it hit her squarly in the stomach, she wasn't expecting it and fell back on her friends almost knocking them back aswell. I put my sunglasses back on and tucked the newspaper firmly in my pocket.

"now, will you move?" the boys moved out of the way knowing batter but the girls stayed grounded. One ginger haired girl stepped forward and attempted to punch me but I easily dodged and swept my foot across the back of her legs, sending her to the ground. "ugh, im getting bored now, I need to be somewhere so move." I tell them in a bored voice. A tall girl who was wearing ripped jeans and a cropt top leapt forward and she looked a little angry. She took something from her pocket and held it up with a fierce look on her face. She held a small pocket knife in front of her.

I rolled my eyes and laughed at her. "hah!" I reached into my other pocket and drew out a much larger and much sharper knife. They stepped back as I spun it expertly on my palm. They all stepped back and the girl dropped the knife on the floor. one boy went to pick up the girl lying on the floor as the rest ran back down the ally screaming. I grinned to myself and began to stride confidently down the street again. I came out and could just see the group of teens running away.

I started down the other way and went into the woods. I ran through the trees and finally into the next town, Dunbridge. I walked into the almost silent town. Past the cold looking houses and the abandoned park, I could still smell the scent of dried blood, it lingered in the air. I walked slower as I approached the school. I tried to get to the gates but the amount of tape that had covered it was impeccably, I saw all the black vans parked around the gates, but they were no match for me. I climbed over and jumped down with a thud. I broke into a sprint with my head down and went into the main field, I looked up briefly to look back into my old food tek room that I had been in only yesterday. I ran round until I got into an entrance, I opened the door and climbed the stairs up to the many dorms. I dashed down each corridor and stopped at my room, I kicked it open and went inside, my equipment was still there and my bag so I stuffed everything inside, then I went across and kicked Hale's door open, I pushed everything into the bag and slung it over my shoulder.

Then I went down the hallways and to the lunch hall, I cautiously peered through the window with the glasses still on and saw many officers in unniforms and dark suits standing aropund and examining, there were not as many body's but enough to make the memorie fresh in my mind. I reached up at the the rim of my sunglasses and clicked a tiny button, I couldn't here it but I felt it clicking away as the lenses took pictures of the scene. Suddenly one agent twitched and I ducked instantly. I went back down the corridor and flew outside, I could hear footsteps and I let myself panic for half a second before running across the field and into the empty town.

I banged open a cars door and jumped inside, I stuck my belt buckle into the key slot and the car started up. I dumped the bag in the passanger seat and drove down the street. I turned the corners violently and drove down the forest road into the other town, this was different and very busy again, so I had to be risky. I cut throught the fields knocking through fences and bushes.

I was in a clear space when I suddenly heard Hale's voice from the neckline of my top. I flinched before I remembered that I was still wearing the tag Hale gave me. Hale started to speak clearly to me "hey, Kat! Where are you? Me and Shane are outside a small café on the outskirts of the town, are you still here?" "what? Oh, yeah, no im not in town, got everything but I think someone's following me so im riding through the fields in some car, you guys finished? I could give you a lift." I replied while swirving around a tree. "right, okay then. Come to were we split before. K?" "right." I say finally and make a sudden right turn through a fence, it snapped and scratched across the windscreen. "ugh, that's going to be noticeable." I said under my breath. I couldn't see anything following me but I could sense it. I went on to the main road suddenly and blended into the traffic.

After a few minutes I pulled up at the entrance to the town. I clicked the badge on my neckline tag, and spoke to Hale "hey, im outside ready, you coming?" I heard no reply for a while so I tried again "Hale? You there?" I sighed, he must have dropped it or something. i got out of the car and slammed it shut I walked in through the entrance to the busy town and leaned against a café wall, I waited.


	9. Chapter 9

"Hmmph, what's taking them so long?" I mumbled under my breath. I looked at the floor and tried my tag again. "Hale?" I asked. At first there was some crackling until a clear voice got through. "Kat?! Is that you?" I heard Shane yell through the coms unit. "yeah? Why are you answering for Hale?" as I asked Shane this a I felt un easy. "come quick, Kat! I think something happened to Hale!" he said sounding scared. "okay, okay. Where are you?" I ask him calmly. "im, um, by the fox's inn." He replies. "right stay there, ill be there in a sec." I replied and started to run through the crowds, I dashed around the people and finally came to a stop infront of the fox's inn.

"they wont be around the front, and not inside…. So at the back."I said under my breath in a conclusion. I walked briskly around the building until I came to a large green gate, I studied it and there was a pretty expensive lock hanging of the handle. Broken. Hale must have came this way then, I thought and turned the rusty handle. The gate dragged along the ground as I pushed it open. "Shane? Hale?" I called out into the empty space. "Kat? Is that you?" I heard Shane say from a distance. "yeah! Im coming." I jogged around the back and around the corner, there was a small shed and Shane was standing outside keeping an eye on the direction I was coming from while quickly glancing inside the shed. I reached him and say "where's Hale?" "here." He says and gestures to the shed. I looked and saw a crumpled Hale slumped on an old chair.

My eyes widened and I asked in shock "wow! What happened to him?!" I crouched down and looked at Hale, he had his eyes open but they were focused on his arm. "i. told. You. Not to get her." Hale said in obvious pain. "well when you didn't reply into the coms unit, Shane answered." I say slowly and reach out for his arm. He looks up at me and I say "did someone attack you?" he replies "yeah, that guy from the fire. He did this" Hale says this and rolls up the torned end of his sleeve. There was bright red blood dripping down from a deep cut into his arm. "ugh, I hate the kind that hit and run." I say rolling my yes and he smiles slightly. I felt relieved and tell him. "right, well I got everything from our rooms, including your medical equipment, so if we can get you to the car then we good." He nods and tries to sit upright. "Shane, help me get him up." I say and Shane follows the order and hauls Hale upright.

I go behind him and tear a piece of cloth of one of the aprons that were hanging up. I quickly tie it around Hale's arm before he can object. "hey Hale, how can I communicate with Ed?" I ask him. "oh, erm. He digs around in one of his pockets before producing a small yellow square. "press the button." He says weakly. I press the button on the back and suddenly Ed's voice is herd clearly "yes master Hale?" "Ed? Its Kat. Hale is a little hurt and we can temporarily fix him up, we will be home in a while so can you be ready for when we return?" I ask patiently. "of course miss Kat. I will be awaiting your return with immediate help for Master Hale." I shove the device into my pocket and nod to Hale. "okay guys, come on. I parked outside the entrance." Shane stepped forward and practically dragged Hale along. He must have lost a lot of blood, I thought before trying to man handle his injured arm over my own shoulder. I could tell it hurt him but I couldn't just let Shane drag him through Town. "next time, im bringing a gun." He muttered under his breath.

We walked through the rusty gate and to the front of the building. It was a little busier now as it was lunch, so it was easier not to get noticed by people. We kept walking and it seemed like a decade until we finally reached the entrance. I left Hale to Shane and I sorted the car so I could easily sort Hale out. "Shane, can you drive?" I ask while my upper half was stuck inside the car. "er, well, sort of. I guess." He says unsurely. "well, your gonna have to be, your driving." I get out of the back of the car and tell Hale to get in. he sits against the back seat and Shane jumps in at the front. "gosh! What did you do to the screen?" he asks amazed. "oh, yeah it was a fence." I reply not really paying attention. "go! Drive back to the house." I order and quickly get to work on Hale, I took out a first aid box from the bag and open it. Putting it to one side I roll up his sleeve and could hardly tell if the cloth was still there, blood had seeped through it. I tared it off and Hale winced. "okay so I have to put this weird spay on, right? The one you put on my wrist?" he nods and I quickly wipe away the blood before spraying his arm, I thoroughly cover it and Hale clenched his fist in agony. "yeah, I know, it hurts bad." I say and try not to smile. I wrap up his arm in a thick bandage and look down at my handiwork. "pretty good, if you ask me." I say and rub my hands together. Hale looks down and mumbles "thanks."

I turn my attention to Shane "hey, Shane, where are we?" "erm, we have just passed a sign for Wenley, so we are getting closer." I nod in understanding. I sit back and suddenly ask Hale "are you feeling up for a review?" he rolls his eyes and sighs, "no but you can tell me what you've found out." "okay. So I went to the paper shop first and I got this paper" I take the news paper out of the bag and show him the front page, he squints to read "and then I ran into a little trouble with some girls, but never mind that. Then I went down to Dunbridge." I say this part quieter in case Shane is listening. "I got all our things from the rooms and went to the lunch hall, there was quite a few agents there, including the police. I took some photos but I think one of them noticed me so I came back here in this car." He nods slowly, taking it all in. "using the glasses?" he asks. "yup." I reply, popping the p.

"Hey Shane, turn on the radio, would you." I ask. He does and the news comes on. "looks like the public doesn't know about it yet." I say to Hale. "no, the government probably wants to keep it a secret as long as possible." Hale says. "hey, guys we are at the beach, where from here?" Shane interrupts. "oh, erm left." Hale says. Shane moves us left and we approach the hill we had climbed up earlier. "well, I don't know about you guys, but that was a pretty fun trip into town." I say with a grin. Shane smiles abck at me through the rear view mirror and starts to decend down a path. It got bumpy but soon enough we approached the beach again. Cut off from the public beach, we were isolated from the happy shouts coming from the other side.

Shane stopped the car and I helped Hale get out of the car. " Shane! Can you go to the house and get Ed?" Shane nods and sprints off towards the house. I help Hle move out of the car and we both stagger across the sand and uptowrds the mansion. Suddenly Ed comes into view, running up towards us. For an old man he sure can run, I thought to myself. "Master Hale, how can I help?"" Ed says while breathing heavily. "erm, can you get the bags out the car over there?" Hale asks. Ed nods and goes off to the car. I keep supporting Hale until we get to the doors. Shane is standing there, holding the doors open. "Ed says to take him to the front room." he says. "right." I say and take Hale to the living room. I sit him down on a chair and he smiles softly. "thanks, Kat." I smile back and suddenly Ed comes in through the doorway.

"thank you miss Kat, I can handle Master Hale from here." He bends down to look at Hale and I say "his arm, I think he was struck by a blade." He rolls up Hale's arm and sees the bandages. "you did this, Miss Kat?" he asks surprised. "yeah, just a quick fix up." I say. "no, you have helped Master Hale a great lot, Miss." I smile as Ed unwraps the bandages. The blood is almost completely gone and the wound is clear to see. It stretched up from the bottom of his wrist to his elbow. I grimace and Ed says "miss Kat? Could I ask you to do me a favour?" I nod. "could you please go up to Master Hale's room and get the small tube of ointment off of his table?" "of, course, is that okay, Hale?" he hesitates before answering "sure."

I make my way up the stairs and along the corridor to Hale's room. I paused before entering into the dark room. the curtains were pulled to, so I felt for the light switch. It flicked on and I was a little confused. Surely, I rich boy would have an extravagant room? I think to myself. I look around the plain room. there was a small blue bed and a single cupboard sitting next to it. By the window was an old chair that sat at attention by a table. everything looked so lonely in the big room. it felt as though sorrow itself was this room. I went over to the table and picked up the only thing that sat there, a small tube." I leave the room immediately and hurry down the stairs. I reach the living room and avoid eye contact with Hale. I give Ed the tube and say "im going down to the beach." I can feel Hale looking at me but I avert my eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

okay, so this chapter is really short. erm...yeh. :)

I leave the room silently and go outside. There is a soft breeze floating around in the air. I take a deep breath of fresh air and exhale into the wind. I walk further down the beach to where the water licks at the beach. I sit down close my eyes as the breeze pushes my hair back and I can feel the bad memories fly from my mind as peace takes over my body. I don't know how long I sat there, it was only when the water washed over my toes that I realised that the sky had been getting dark, the water had turned a lovely purple colour from reflecting the sky. I stood up and stretched my back. The sand felt cold on my feet and the wind had settled down, I walked to the door and went inside, calmly. I felt drowsy, like lying down on a soft bed would feel amazing. I was debating whether I should go upstairs to the soft bed awaiting me or go down to the kitchen to see if Hale was still there. I decided to go down the corridor, I floated down there like a ghost and only felt like my existence was real when I opened the door to Hale sat infront of the fire, which was burning away. He sat on the carpet with his legs crossed like a child and I felt like joining him, he looked so warm and friendly. I slowly drifted over and quietly sat down beside Hale. He didn't look at me and just kept watching the fire. He shakily moved his hand and placed it on top of mine. If it was a few hours before, then I would have jerked my hand away from his own, but the warmth enveloped me like a hug and I let it. My hand relaxed and he whispered "your cold." He still doesn't look at me and just keeps staring at the flames like he was entranced. I stay quiet not wanting to disturb him. "You and Ed are the only ones who have ever been in my room." I don't reply but move my hand round so it's holding onto Hale's. he flinches and I try to turn it back round but he grabs my hand to keep it still. "Please talk. It's like you're not there, just a cold ghost." "Hale, are you okay?" I ask gently in case if I spoke to loudly or directly he would explode. He turns to face me and says "no, I have to many bad memories, Kat." He turns away and I reply "I know, but thinking about them will only cause you pain, Hale." He looked upset and move my hand away from his to pat him on the back. "come on, we should make something to eat." He moves my hand away from his back and disregards what I just said and says "you know, when you were upset yesterday, you, didn't really hurt your arm, did you?" I hesitate before answering "no."


	11. Chapter 11

okay, so another short one. :)

I stand up swiftly and go to the kitchen, I take out a loaf of bread and the knife in my pocket. I slice off two large chunks of bread before putting them under the grill. I move to the fridge and take out a big piece of cheese, I cut off two more chunks off and put them on a plate. Next I take out the butter and prepare for the toast to be cooked.

Suddenly the kitchen door swings open but I don't look up because I know Hale will be standing there, probably angry. Then the grill males a beeping noise and I turn to get my toast, but Hale beats me to it. He takes them off of the grill and holds them behind his back. "tell me what." He says sharply. "no, give me the toast. I don't want your fingers getting burnt." I say and reach out behind his back. He jeks away and says " tell me." I narrow my eyes and go back to the bread board, I take out the loaf again and pick up my knife. Im about to cut down on the innocent bread but Hale comes up behind me and grabs both of my wrists.

I freeze and keep my head down, looking at the floor. "kat, please tell me what." Hale whispers into my ear. I say nothing and try to shake off Hale. He doesn't move away and I feel restricted in a way that I could never explain. "go away Hale, im trying to make something to eat." I carry on, completely ignoring his demand. He doesn't say anything for a while except rest his forhead on the back of mine, then he violently throws away my hands and walks out into the living room. I felt bad, but that was something for only me to know. I sighed and picked up the toast that Hale had put on my plate, I buttered it calmly and place the cheese cubes on top. I carry the plate through the living room and past the sulking Hale who was sitting by the fire again. I went upstairs to my room and heard faint snores from Shane's room. I went inside without turning the lights on and sat down on the sofa. I ate my toast in silence and once I had finished I went to the window.

I stood and staired out at the sea, how calm it was, how refreshing it would be to just lie on op of it, the waves washing over you like a blanket. How good it would be to go and join the fish in the sea. An urge shot through me and unconsciously, I stepped onto the windowsill and began opening the window. I heard my door creak open but I was to entranced in the one thought 'lets join the sea.' I stepped further to the open window and looked down at the beautiful sand lying in peace at the bottom. I raised my foot to take the last step, when I was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled from my dream onto the floor, onto somebody.


End file.
